Veneto, and Vicenza in particular, are breathing a sigh of relief for a flood that was reminiscent of the 2010 disaster in terms of quantity of water, and also the Vaia storm of 2018, but which did not cause the same damage for investments in protection of the territory.
The flood waves of the Bacchiglione and the tributary Retrone caused some flooding, but with overall damage that was bearable.
Tragedy instead in Alto Adige, where
an avalanche broke out in Racines di Dentro
, overwhelming three people.
The toll is one dead and two seriously injured.
Up to 60 centimeters of fresh snow has fallen in the area recently.
Another avalanche in Arabba (Belluno), where two skiers emerged unharmed from the snow.
For the Veneto, where the red alert for hydraulic risk will persist in the next few hours, President Luca Zaia has started the request for a state of emergency, in the prospect of help from the State for compensation for the damages, but at the same time he sings victory: "We are faced with a meteorological event that must be classified as a major flood event - he said - but Vicenza was saved by the lamination basins. If the works were not there we were facing another disaster".
Two of the three lamination basins along the Bacchiglione river have been opened around the capital of Berico, the largest one in Caldogno and the one on the Orolo stream in Costabissara;
the third, viale Diaz in Vicenza, was not necessary.
"We have removed 3 million cubic meters of water. This is the way to protect the country", was Zaia's comment.
In addition to the funds for damages, the request to Rome is for other money to complete the rolling mill plan: "We have put on the ground - continued Zaia - almost 600 million of large works, with an overall plan of 2.7 billion, ce We need at least one for the basins; we have designed 23 in total and built 13. Then we have other minor but strategic works, such as river embankments, and we spend 40 million a year on maintenance."
In Vicenza, the increase in the flow of the Retrone has led to difficulties, especially due to some flooding, in the park of the same name in the western part of the city, in basements and also in the historic "Menti" stadium, where the water has reached the point of covering part of the pitch .
A situation caused above all by the fact that the sewerage network was unable to dispose of the abundant rain, and where water pumps with a flow rate of 40 thousand liters per minute were put into action.
However, enough to make us fear for the next Lanerossi match, scheduled for Sunday.
The movement of trains from Vicenza to Milan, Padua and Treviso is still interrupted.
In mid-afternoon the mayor Giacomo Possamai was able to announce the drop in the levels of the waterways and the reopening of schools tomorrow, when the work of clearing garages, cellars and basements will also begin, in addition to counting the damage.
Since the afternoon the situation has been improving, with the rains stopping for a day and a half, and then resuming but with less intensity.
In the rest of Italy, bad weather hit the Modena area, where the water level dropped, which allowed the reopening of two bridges over the Secchia river.
The orange alert for hydraulic criticality is also valid for the next few hours, in which further rain and strong winds are expected across much of the central-south.
While the damage from yesterday's landslides in Liguria is being counted, in Sicily a water bomb hit Castelvetrano (Trapani) this morning, with the usual side effects of flooding of roads, underpasses and rooms on the underground floors but without any damage to people.
Mayor Enzo Alfano has ordered the closure of schools.
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